First Day at the Beach

On Friday, Eli and I accompanied my friends, Gilda and Allan, for a beach excursion. They just joined this exclusive beach resort called White Sands and so we were able to come along as guests...well for $25. And that $25 was well worth it! Despite the 2 1/2 hour drive (40km in distance) through ridiculous traffic, the beach was beautiful, serene, and just what we needed. Sometimes Accra can feel so congested, dirty, dusty and just plain frustrating so to get away to a place that feels like a slice of heaven was really special. This resort includes an infinity pool overlooking the ocean and a pristine beach (hard to fine around Accra) with calm waves, as it's in a cove, and delicious food! So Eli got his first touch of sand and couldn't get enough of it. He just kept picking up handfuls of it and letting it slowly fall through his fingers...never once putting it in his mouth. We did a quick dip in the ocean (Eli bare bottomed!) because I'm still a little paranoid about the ocean in general and especially in Ghana...you hear stories about parasitic worms that get into your feet from the sand, etc. and that's enough to make you a little neurotic. Most of our time there was spent in the sand away from the water where Eli could crawl around, explore, and feel the salty breeze on his face. The only drawback to this place was getting from the resort pool area to the beach. The staff have to shuttle guests back and forth across a lagoon on a wooden ferry and then you must walk with all your belongings through the fishing area, trying not to trip on fishing nets, to their private beach area. So Eli was in my arms, I was carrying two large bags and Allan, who just had hip surgery a month ago, wheeled the stroller along the sand. It wasn't easy and it was times like this that I wish I knew how to strap Eli on my back. But, when we got there, the trek was long forgotten and we had the place all to ourselves the whole day...not another soul was there! We'll definitely be going back soon!

Solo Mama

Alan departed for Reunion this past weekend. No, not his reunion but Reunion, the country. If you're like me, you have no idea where that is. Reunion is a small French island off the coast of Madagascar in the middle of the Indian Ocean which begs the question, why am I not there too!!!! Well, occasionally work calls and this time the locale is not too bad. So I have embarked on my first week with Eli on my own and so far so good but I have a feeling that as the week gets into full swing I'm going to really wish Eli's papi was around especially during diaper changes since the boy refuses to stay still and it can get quite messy.

So with Eli asleep at 7pm these days, my evenings have gotten pretty quiet so to keep myself entertained, I've started a new project - my Ghanaian quilt. I'm trying to use mostly batik fabrics that I've collected over the last 2 years and if I can stay focused on working on it, the quilt will eventually be for a queen size bed.



I also thought it'd be great if Eli could learn to walk while papi was away so we've been practicing our moves. Eli can now stand on his own for a second and loves to push the laundry basket around to practice one foot in front of the other. Unfortunately, every time I try to capture him practicing, he becomes way more interested in me with the camera and gets distracted from the task at hand.

Little Hands Little Bites

Since we've arrived back to Ghana, Eli is changing and growing right before our eyes! He hits 9 months today and seems more and more like a little boy and not a baby anymore. One sign of the changing times is Eli's ability (or let's say developing ability) to feed himself. And it's not just this ability that has struck us but his determination, drive, and downright stubbornness to do it himself! It began with these small puffs we found in the US when we were home for the holidays and man, did he love eating these. At first he tried to pick them up himself but quickly found it difficult and so he cried for us to feed them to him. When we got back here, we worked on having him learn to pick them up himself despite his cries of frustration. The video shows him working very hard to master the skill. It was so hard to sit and watch what to me seems like such a simple task and of course I had to sit on my hands to avoid picking it up for him and feeding it to him. But what joy both of us have when he gets one in his mouth! A big smile spreads across his face and he squeals with excitement.




He's even learning to respond to "How big is Eli?'...."So Big!"



And now that he thinks he's a big boy, he hangs out with his lady friends, Maite and Malaika (6 and 3).

New Paintings

Alan and I had a really fabulous weekend this past weekend which, in Ghana, is saying a lot! Part of what made the weekend so special was that we finally bought 2 paintings from a Ghanaian artist we've been admiring and following since we arrived 2 years ago. We first saw Larry Otoo's paintings in an art gallery here in Accra and were drawn to them immediately. His use of color alone is enough to move you. We then started seeing his work pop up around town in restaurants, hotels, and in other galleries. We decided a long time ago that before we leave Ghana we would buy a piece of his work. And, as it seems our two year contract here in Ghana is drawing to a close, we decided we better act on this decision sooner than later. We had previously tried to locate Mr. Otoo using the internet but could not find any contact information for him, although there was plenty about him online. We didn't want to buy from the gallery but instead wanted to buy directly from him. We know the gallery prices are marked up a lot and we really wanted to opportunity to meet the man we've been following. Finally, we recently saw some of his work in the airport and there was a number of a gallery attached to the paintings. Alan wrote to the gallery and as it turned out, there was not an actual gallery but more of a moving gallery that shows various painters' works around Accra. But, the woman told us she could bring us some of his work to our house for us to view and perhaps buy. We were still not satisfied, however, being that we'd buy from someone representing the artist. Taking another look online, we finally found Mr. Otoo's new website which displayed his contact information (www.larryotoo.com). I quickly wrote to him and explained we were big fans of his and would just love to come visit his studio and buy a piece of his work. Within several hours he replied and suggested we call him to get directions. We were giddy with excitement! After speaking to him the next day and getting somewhat vague directions to his house/studio, we decided we'd venture out on Saturday in an attempt to buy our first Otoo.

We got an early start, knowing it might take us a while to find his place which was a bit outside of town. We battled normal Accra traffic and tried to keep Eli entertained in the car for about an hour when I soon got a bad feeling we had gone too far. We asked a boy on the side of the road and he confirmed we'd missed our turnoff by a lot. So we turned around and after another 30 minutes find Mr. Otoo's studio. A little nervous as we weren't sure what to expect. He is after all one of the top 3 painters in the country and has shown is work all around the world. After first being greeted by his lovely wife who guided us to his studio next door, we found an amazingly kind, gentle, and very humble man who welcomed us into our studio. We were surrounded by beautiful paintings both on the wall and on the floor and in front of us we noticed a painting he must have just been working on when we entered. We were like kids in a candy store salivating over the splashes of color which made up images of beautiful Ghanaian women, musicians, and street scenes. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, he started bringing out painting after painting that he had either in the back of his studio or his house.

As we browsed we talked to him about his art, his use of color, his training, his travels, and his views on what will become of Ghanaian art in the future. He was open with us about his concerns that there are no great up and coming Ghanaian artists and his feeling is that this is due to their lack of motivation and deep internal passion for painting. Instead, he feels that young artists in Ghana today do not have the patience to wait or work for success in the field and are driven by money more than anything else. Mr. Otto graduated from the University of Ghana in 1981 and was a student of the most famous Ghanaian painter, Glover. He told us that the other top painters from Ghana currently were from his same class and we were familiar with their work as well so discussed what he felt about their work.

And so finally it came time to decide on a piece, or in this case, 2 pieces! The first two that we saw when we entered the studio wound up to be the ones we decided on.




The second one, Alan had just the other day inquired about from the gallery at the airport. Mr. Otoo told us we were very lucky because just the day before, a woman had bought that painting from the airport gallery on her way to board a plane. But as it turned out, she already had too much baggage and could not take the painting and had to give it back. It then made its way back to Mr. Otto. He told us that this painting has been very popular and admired by many so we felt very lucky to be able to admire every day for years to come. Alan delicately negotiated the price a bit with Mr. Otoo after having some minor confusion about whether the quoted price was in dollars or cedis. We packed up our paintings, took a picture with our favorite Ghanaian artist, and went on our way.



The paintings already are up on the walls in our apartment but not for long. In the following few weeks, we should hear about where we're headed next in the world and the paintings will surely follow us on our next adventure.

Play Dates With Friends and Family

Although we're already settled back in Ghana after arriving on New Years Day (yes, we spent New Years Eve over the Atlantic Ocean...not nearly as exciting as I had anticipated), I finally have a moment to breathe and post an entry of our last few days in Athens with my family. The last week was a whirlwind of shopping for gifts for people in Ghana, buying necessities for us that we cannot find here, and saying goodbye to friends and family. Even though the 5 almost 6 weeks we had back home seemed like plenty of time, towards the end it always feels hectic and rushed as we try to cross off a zillion "to-do's".

But despite the frenetic pace of things, we really enjoyed seeing old friends, letting Eli have some play dates with my friends' children, and treasuring the moments my parents got to spend with Eli. I got to spend some time with one of my earliest childhood friends, Sarah, who I only reconnected with in Athens while I was pregnant after not seeing her since we were in 2nd grade. She has a beautiful 1 year old, Rebecca, and so we had a couple of outings and play dates with her and Eli. Rebecca is full of energy and personality and was really good at giving hugs to Eli (who unfortunately does not yet know how to reciprocate and fortunately, Rebecca, does not yet get offended).



Chris, Rebecca's husband, captured Eli's attention with this funny puppet.


We also got a play date in with my very good friend Leslie's son, Charlie, who is about 15 months. They live in Raleigh and were in town for Christmas. He is a little dynamo and was zooming all around Eli who just was trying to keep up.





Alan and I also got to visit with some close friends that I went to middle and high school with, Delene and Emily. Delene and her husband, Killick, live in a beautiful area with wooded trails right outside their back door. We rented a backpack for Eli and had a beautiful walk with them and their dog, Yummy. Eli loved his backpack and insisted on pulling my hair the whole time until I realized I had a hood on my sweatshirt and soon that was the end of that game.




In between play dates and crazy shopping and errands, we watched my parents savor every moment with Eli whether it was feeding time or reading time or just plain being silly time.





I know it is extremely difficult for both of our parents to be so far away from Eli and to see him in person so infrequently. It also makes me sad as well but I know it's not forever and these experiences we're having traveling the world are also very important for us. And plus, it makes our visits back home to see them that much more special and memorable...and thank goodness for Skype!

So it's back to the reality of returning to life in Ghana and all that comes with it...